Body of 'Italy's Bruce Forsyth' finally found a year after being stolen by graverobbers

The body of a hugely popular television entertainer has been recovered by police nearly a year after it was stolen from a tomb in one of Italy's most bizarre crimes.

Veteran TV host Mike Bongiorno died in September 2009

By Nick Squires in Rome

3:18PM GMT 09 Dec 2011

The corpse and coffin of Mike Bongiorno – a game show host whose massive popularity invited comparisons with Bruce Forsyth and Bob Monkhouse - were dug out of his tomb on the shores of Lake Maggiore in northern Italy in January.

He had been buried there 16 months earlier, following a state funeral in Milan attended by thousands of mourners, including Silvio Berlusconi, the then prime minister and a close friend of the entertainer.

There was speculation that a gang of body snatchers stole the body with the intention of blackmailing Bongiorno's wealthy widow.

Eleven months on, his body was found in countryside on the outskirts of Milan on Thursday, about 50 miles from where it had been dug up.

A man walking his dog found the coffin, which still bore a plaque recording the quiz show king's name and dates of birth and death, half-submerged in a ditch. It was in good condition despite apparently having been thrown off a bridge.

The body was taken to a mortuary in central Milan.

Police said they would conduct fingerprint and DNA tests to establish final confirmation of identity, but Bongiorno's family said they were convinced that he had been found.

"We are feeling much better, we are very happy that the body has been recovered," said Michele Bongiorno, the celebrity's eldest son.

Credited with pioneering the quiz show format in the 1950s, Bongiorno was one of the country's most popular entertainers.

Flanked by bikini-clad showgirls, he presented shows such as the Italian version of Wheel of Fortune and Beat the Clock.

His 50-year career and middle-brow appeal saw him compared to Bruce Forsyth, but instead of "Nice to see you, to see you – nice!", Bongiorno's trademark greeting was "Allegria!" (Cheers).

He died of a heart attack on holiday in Monte Carlo in Sept 2009, at the age of 85.

Two people were arrested in March on suspicion of trying to extort money from his family, but police ruled they were fraudsters trying to cash in on the theft and that their claims to have the body in their possession were false.